An excellent biography, as biographies go. Was Isabel a worthy subject for a biography? The book is more about the whole King family than it is about Isabel herself. I took exception to Gray's criticism of Isabel, and sometimes the family, as being 'selfish'. She was a woman of her times. She did not launch her children in what we would consider a healthy independent adulthood and her lack of insight into her own psycho-social needs which were not met by her husband was pitiful but not selfish. Otherwise I love the frank treatment of the life stories of these historical figures. I am glad I did not have to raise a family in those 'romantic' times.

Really enjoyed this book - the author has a great writing style that makes the storytelling of history so compelling.

I really enjoyed this biography both as an insight to the mind of King and his mother, and to the time period, of which I've done some research.